Darryl Dawkins : The Man Who Broke Backboards

[@husq48]

Most remember him just for the dunks, myself included, but he was much more than that!

[@billmelnychuk3488]

I went to a Pistons game against the Sixers and at half time I found myself standing Courtside directly beside Darryl Dawkins. He was the biggest, strongest man I have ever seen. His athleticism was unbelievable. People remember him for his dunks but he was much more than that.

[@atheistleopard7671]

Robert Wadlow was 9 feet tall. psstt........'hold my beer, little boy darryl' . . . lmao

[@carlthomas3895]

The most underrated power forward in the history of the NBA. I’m glad I ( with another friend) had the opportunity to meet and hang out with him and World be Free. They both were cool and down to earth. No egos, just two brothers hanging out with us, plus educating us about the business side of the basketball world.Especially coming out of high school. My personal opinion, they will never give him the credit for forcing the NBA to come up with the break away basketball rim . If he was one of those other folks it would have the greatest genius ideas ever. Rest In Peace Chocolate Thunder …. 🙏🏾💯

[@natureboy1313]

Underrated? Guy was exciting yes. His dunks wre so powerful. But...in the 1980 finals game #6 he got schooled by a 6'8" rookie guard who was playing center. This rookie scored 42 and grabbed 15 rebs. While DD had 15 and only 4 rebs in a loss. I liked DD but his game was all thunder. played center

[@leroyjames2825]

World B. Free (Lloyd Free), before he changed his name, was also nicknamed; "Prince of Mid-Air", my personal favorite. Even today, many NBA players have colorful nicknames .

[@MrJbee73]

He didn't create the breakaway rim. I think they give him credit. Loved watching him create havoc. A dominating power forward next to Moses Malone the best PF ever.

[@jefferyroy2566]

I appreciate your nostalgia, but Dawkins was a wasted talent. He was so big, strong and athletic, he could have been the Olajuwon of the 1970s. Instead, he had his manhood challenged by Maurice Lucas in the 1977 Finals and played like a deflated balloon in the sweep by the Blazers in Games 3-6, playing only a total of 26 minutes in the final two games. A guy with his ability should have averaged more than 12 points and 6.1 rebounds over his career. Instead, he broke backboards and named his dunks. If he was trying to be the Ali of the NBA, his stats didn't back up his hype.

[@seanswinton6242]

He forgot to mention Dr. Dunkenstein!!!!😂😂

[@Wondertroy1TV]

Rest in Peace Darryl ….

[@mauricecollinssr.2824]

Can't talk about basketball history, without mentioning Daryl Dawkins, rest in peace my brother, you will not be forgotten

[@Don-xj3uo]

Glad you did this video. One of my all time favorites and extremely underrated!

[@svenmartin840]

When I saw Darryl Dawkins break the backboard I laughed my head off. And when he did the second time everybody was laughing. He was a great player

[@atheistleopard7671]

yeah, breaking a backboard versus sending men to the moon. which would I pick.......hmm..............OR, your god watches you whack. lmao

[@kabook4000]

I know!!! I met him and Vinny del negro at basketball clinic in Springfield, Ma. Good man, funny as hell.

[@BasketballJones48021]

Dawkins is still the GOAT dunker at the center spot… He was a beast of an athlete but also pretty skilled, don’t get it twisted! Although you can argue about his mentality and how that affected him from reaching his utmost potential (that and injuries)…….

[@areguapiri]

Not much mentally.

[@natureboy1313]

Best dunking center?

[@JerichoCastille]

Officiating was his number 1 problem.

[@Ricky-sb7bf]

@@natureboy1313 Actually yeah...who would you put ahead of him? His dunks were more versatile and creative than shaq, and he had the same amount of power.

[@brianharris9949]

Chocolate Thunder was so athletic for a man of his size. Remember him destroying backboards before I knew what a Shaquille O’Neal was. Quick AF… 🤣🤣🤣

[@nunyabusiness7927]

"Backboard swayin'; game delayin" was my favorite dunk name by DD.

[@lonniebaines1720]

People act like Shaq did that 1st....NO...youngsters know Nothing...

[@Monk-Amani.]

Remember when you were young?

[@jeffreyevans7297]

Darrell Dawkins was the creator of the rim wrecker

[@mauricecollinssr.2824]

All these youngsters these days haven't seen the players, they were men, not these kids we see today, none of them wouldn't get playing time, in my 60 years of watching, only Lebron, not even Jordan could play against those guys

[@seanswinton6242]

It DR. DUNKENSTEEIN!!!😂😂

[@SimonPinchbeck]

@@mauricecollinssr.2824bro. jordan entered the league like 5 years later. what r u on

[@elpmasnet]

So appreciate you made this video Darryl Dawkins was my all-time number one favorite NBA player so the fact that someone honored him was really great and again I appreciate you making this video, rest in peace, chocolate thunder🙏🏽

[@ThisHandle444]

I never got to see Sweet D put in that work but thanks to KZbin, here i am. Basking in his glory. What a monster he was.

[@kevinwilkins9627]

Personally I would've loved to see Chocolate Thunder with my Lakers,just imagine Magic throwing sweet passes to him on the break 😊

[@areguapiri]

The "showtime" Lakers were perfectly fine without Daryl Dawkins.

[@foxmccloud7055]

Every backboard shattered is a glorious tribute to the king Darryl Dawkins.

[@triipn]

The greatest era of Basketball, and always be!

[@phillipmoody7078]

The breakaway rim needs to be renamed for Darryl Dawkins

[@abestone60]

This man was a force to be reckoned with! A beast! Too bad he played in an era when players didn't get paid what they were worth!

[@JamesJohnson-r9o]

The legendary NBA's "Chocolate Thunder!!!"

[@lojgjhgtgdjh]

my grandma went to his high school they were friends and met with him when he was coaching after retiring She even went to this funeral and met with his younger brother Chico

[@Jiltedin2007]

Darryl Dawkins was more of a Center in Philadelphia than Caldwell Jones could ever be!

[@natureboy1313]

And in game 6 of the 80 finals a 6'8" rookie guard decided to play center and schooled DD with a 45/15/7 night. Magii. J. humiliated him that night. DD was exciting though.

[@Jiltedin2007]

@@natureboy1313 A Rookie Guard from Michigan State, right? Coming off whipping Larry Bird's ass in the NCAA Tournament Final they year before, he fills in for an injured Kareem Abdul Jabbar who did not get on the plane to Philadelphia for Game 6. Now he will forever be The Only Rookie to win the NBA Playoff MVP Award. It was his night, and he had something to prove to the league because he was pretty pissed about Larry Bird being 1980 NBA Rookie of the Year.

[@natureboy1313]

@@Jiltedin2007 DD had much to prove and he got humiliated.

[@southjerseysfinest]

Love Chocolate Thunder!! He just stayed in foul trouble too much.

[@dblewis1779]

I've actually never met or heard anyone that said Shaq was the first person to break a backboard But yeah Was a kid and a Philly fan during this time period It's overlooked and forgotten just how talented this team was As far as Dawkins You had to see this guy play His game and personality was infectious

[@FallenLeaf73]

played 5 games of one-on-one to 15, winner's out, win by 2, with DD at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Aug. 1976. He won all 5 games but I wore him down with pressure defense and shooting from distance and lost game 5, a heartbreaker, 21-19. We were both sweating like pigs and gasping for air when we finished and spent about a half hour chatting by the water fountain on our way out of the gym. Darryl was a real nice guy and a lot of fun and I'll always remember the experience. He was a couple of years younger than me so I was shocked in 2015 when I heard that he had died 😥 R.I.P. Darryl Dawkins, #53 1957 - 2015

[@dsfddsgh]

Darryl was one of those players who needed at least a couple of years in college to polish his game. Imagine him going to Kentucky for a couple of years he would have been so much more ready for the NBA.

[@JerichoCastille]

No he didn't.

[@jasonsager6535]

Very underrated power forward. This guy was 6'11 w an NFL football player lineman type build who was extremely powerful and who could leap and jump. This would've been a nice match up for Shaq. I would actually give the edge to Dawkins, I think he would've gotten to Shaq mentally and emotionally as well. RIP Chocolate Thunder.

[@natureboy1313]

Dawkins got taken to school by a 6'8"" rookie guard in game 6 of the 80 finals. That rookie guard had a 45/15/7 gamo on Dawkins. Shaq would have destroyed Dawkins. Dawkins would ride the bench in todays NBA. He was a very exciting player though.

[@dudermcdude9245]

Haaaaa, not really. @@natureboy1313

[@Ricky-sb7bf]

@@natureboy1313 What other 6'8 rookie guard ever did that and got a Chip in the history of the league, though? That wasn't Shaq that did that, so I don't get your point...and Shaq was one of my guys.

[@johnm8096]

I remember watching the dunk against the Kings live. My first thought was that someone had thrown water on the court. Couldn’t believe that it was a shattered backboard.

[@will6996]

For all those names and accolades, it's a shame he didn't win at least 1 nba championship.

[@natureboy1313]

He had his chance in 1980 when Kareem got injured. But in game 6 of the finals a 6'8" rookie guard decided to play center and put up a 45/15/7 game on Dawkins. Dawkins got embarrassed by Magic.

[@will6996]

@@natureboy1313 he shouldn't have felt embarrassed magic used finesse to compensate for lack of size and strength. He also could run the floor with great stamina and quickness, it's know way Dawkins was going to keep up with him for 48mins plus magic had to many moves. But don't get me wrong I doubt even magic could've done that for 3 games or more.

[@natureboy1313]

@@will6996 all good points

[@Mike-kv5pl]

The refs were real tough on Dawkins. He was called for more phantom fouls than any other player I have ever seen.

[@JerichoCastille]

Right. He is the most unfairly officiated player in NBA history.

[@33690]

Wow 😮

[@terrenceliburd8655]

The original Shaq. Had everything you wanted on the court. But at the top off he had two fouls. Smh RIP

[@wesleyowens3006]

IN SHAQ DREAMS way more atheletic, and had range would be interesting to see what he averaged versus jabbar , cause he had so much negative things to say about him

[@onlytruth777]

​@@wesleyowens3006... EXACTLY ! ... Don't Defile this Mans LEGACY trying to put LAZY-A** , 3-ft gm having , shaquille's name in the Same Sentence with Daryl Dawkins ! ... That's A DISGRACE to Chocolate-THUNDER ! ... The Big Men of that Era Had Legitimate Basketball Skills then ... Kareem , Bob Lanier , Artist Gilmore , Moses , Jack Sikma , Robert Parrish , Dan lssel , James Donaldson , Bill Walton & Just On & On & On ... They could do more than just Dunk , & had a repetoire of more than just a 3-foot & in gm ! ... lve said this before , but the 'ONLY' Era shaquille could've played in was the 1 he played , bc the league was going thru a transition ... A cascade of Stars were gone & all that was left was shaquille & mik ... shaquille would've gotten ABUSED & EMBARRASSED in ANY OTHER ERA , ESPECIALLY THAT ONE ! ...

[@onlytruth777]

​@@wesleyowens3006... EXACTLY ! ... Don't Defile this Mans LEGACY trying to put LAZY-A** , 3-ft gm having , shaquille's name in the Same Sentence with Daryl Dawkins ! ... That's A DISGRACE to Chocolate-THUNDER ! ... The Big Men of that Era Had Legitimate Basketball Skills then ... Kareem , Bob Lanier , Artist Gilmore , Moses , Jack Sikma , Robert Parrish , Dan lssel , James Donaldson , Bill Walton & Just On & On & On ... They could do more than just Dunk , & had a repetoire of more than just a 3-foot & in gm ! ... lve said this before , but the 'ONLY' Era shaquille could've played in was the 1 he played , bc the league was going thru a transition ... A cascade of Stars were gone & all that was left was shaquille & mik ... shaquille would've gotten ABUSED & EMBARRASSED in ANY OTHER ERA , ESPECIALLY THAT ONE ! ...

[@Eliyah-EliyahuYahudah]

Darryl Dawkins knickname selection was crazy 🤣

[@TWes-ku6et]

I was at the game when he broke the backboard in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium vs the Kings.

[@kincamell]

Heavy Gus "Honey Comb" Johnson was strong as well. I think broke the backboard as well.

[@cbixby8335]

People saying that era was nothing but plumbers and other nonsense, those players were jacked back then

[@Hoopinchef4L]

How Stevie give him that name if he never saw him?

[@lupodelupis3672]

Chocolate Thunder! What a beast he was!

[@dexteralamara9371]

Sir please feature darrell armstrong

[@ThisHandle444]

I heard he achieved a 100% completion in Skyrim AND beat all the side quests. AFTER he retired. What a legend.

[@MoPhiPulaBam]

Chocolate Thunder From Lovetron...

[@paparazziphotography6712]

Too bad he's been forgotten about; he was a BIG kid in that "BIG OLE BODY". He was so much fun to watch & he had names for ALL of his various dunks. Seriously Darryl could play some ball when HE wanted to. He passed far TOO soon!!!!!

[@tonyhard6875]

Truth the FLORIDA Boy 💯👑🥊🥊

[@TaylorMadeFitnessCoach]

Great video, gonna subscribe BUT... he ended his career as player/coach for the Winnipeg Cyclone in the mid 90s in the IBA

[@eugenekhabure9876]

great job could you do Ricky pierce

[@1625GEE]

Not really re watch the video. Since when are the houston rockets in the eastern conference?

[@JosephMiller-gh6mv]

Darrell was a big kid Lucas was a full grown man in their fight plus you could tell , Lucas had fought before

[@kevinlawrence8580]

He wasn't the first player to be drafted out of high school. It was Moses Malone.

[@kevinlewis7547]

Moses went ABA

[@jefferyjacobson3290]

Spencer Haywood is generally considered the first.

[@kevinlawrence8580]

Spencer Haywood did not go from high school to the pros. He was the first underclassmen to play professional basketball. He was drafted and played one year for the Denver Rockets in the defunct American Basketball Association. In the one year Haywood played in the A.B.A he was the rookie of the year and the most valuable player. He went to Trinidad Junior College for one year. Also he played for the University of Detroit for one year.

[@wesleyowens3006]

j j reddick dont know jack about old school hoops those guys were just following coaches coaching just like you have doctors and you have second opinions darryl was high flyin better shooter run the floor than a lot of players playing his position since the histroy of the nba media just DELETE so many players when they start putting numbers and mount rush more on people just like history american is not the place it wants to be and will tell you what you want to hear mooooooooooooooney

[@JosephMiller-gh6mv]

I dont remember when the spurs were in the east i remember them and lakers in west finals year after it seems

[@scottjohnson5307]

Before Shaquille we had dunkenstien.they forgot that name we called him in ny

[@MrVvulf]

I ticked the votes to the 1k mark. It was the click of climax, the pugnacious pat, the poke of power, the rapacious rap. This is the comment of causation.

[@richardpeetrinpeetrin9817]

The 6'11-1/2" Darryl Dawkins, AKA "Chocolate 🍫 Thunder"!!!!😮

[@PowerGearPerformance]

Met him in Charlotte before he died a few years later

[@tooakki]

Every name is fire.

[@thomastaylor1594]

They use to call me this guy in high school, chocolate thunder!🏀

[@DemopVWgarage]

All these young fools have no idea about Chocolate thunder!! He was the best!

[@J_ro_shows]

For a split second i read this as “daryl dawkins, the man who broke backs” I was like damn what kind of basketball video is this

[@SkidDenver]

That would be a wild video hahaha

[@sfrank8687]

Bro take it from a long time 76ers fan!!! Fun player in the regular season but he was not a winner!!! And he is in my top 5 to play for us

[@rogereverett9599]

The 76'ers never took enough time to focus on Mr. Dawkins and his development. Because he was a big man they must have figured he knew how to do certain things. In his young career he was very raw and needed time to build up his game But with that team they didn't bring in big men to show him how to get ready and play. He went to New Jersey and played very well in his time there but injuries took a toll on his body and it was downhill from there.

[@sfrank8687]

@@rogereverett9599 I agree on some of the things you said, but they had CJ and Harvey Catchings and the doc to groom him but he was all about having fun like a normal 18 year old man child

[@oldschoolruler]

All of these great players mentioned in the 70's, but most youngsters have never heard of them and believe the lie that Magic and Bird 'saved' the league...sad.

[@williamweiss6128]

As I remember, he was probably the first one.

[@anadvocate7310]

U forgot to mention how Norm Nixon killed the Sixers avg 20 &10 vs the Lakers in that 82 finals

[@areguapiri]

Darryl Dawkins was not "raised in poverty".

[@AHMAD-2324]

Yea, he was strong aight you could tell he didn't want no smoke with Maurice Lucas thou...🤣😂 R.I.P. to them both🙏🏽🕊

[@josephmiller9424]

Darryl came right out of high school

[@1968-b3n]

the Nba Owes the Darryl Dawkins Family 1 Billion Dollars - the Breakaway Rim that was introduced in 1980 by the Nba was because of the Power an Strength of Darryl Dawkins who was Never Compensated for His Destructive Dunks that Changed the History of the Dunk .

[@theworldofwoo8320]

Why would they compensate him for destroying property...

[@1968-b3n]

@@theworldofwoo8320 Destroying Property or Elevating the Game with Raw Power like Free Slave Labor -

[@jerryblair4106]

Darryl Dawins the chocolate thunder what an athlete.

[@omaramer846]

The man SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for the creation of the break away rim…..

[@toddhensley2204]

Moses Malone was from HS before DD.

[@quinreal1]

You forgot he had a dunk nicknamed "Ya Mama"

[@MrMYDEAN]

Chocolate Thunder was his nickname ❤

[@omarluciano8687]

You may want to fix that intro. It still says Derek Harper

[@SkidDenver]

Good catch

[@mathewbarge7029]

Dazzam oooOwee that's a Bad Man 👍💪😳

[@jeffrey3498]

If DD was a more intelligent player, he'd be a legend today

[@Cryptofun325]

Ummmm he was tossing those tires like hula hoops!! 😮😮😮

[@bigh9884]

A Shaq/ Dawkins matchup would have been dynamic

[@TheCultureCombo]

You forgot "Doctor Dunkenstein" and "Zandokon from the planet Lovetron"

[@texasstar5]

Sixers drafted him for 7yrs 1million dollars Todays scrubist of the scrubs get 1mil for 7months

[@winnhill3736]

I remember him playing and he was great but the breaking of the backboard didn't entertain me at all.Then again,I was a Celitic fan.

[@bobdavis3357]

RIP Chocolate Thunder.

[@TroyDiaz-zf3fm]

AWESOME MAN ! ...... PERSONAL FRIEND OF MINE ! .... ONCE SAW HIM EAT 12 HOTDOGS ! ....

[@deloreswilliams1027]

The sixers didn’t have a legitimate center that’s why they couldn’t win

[@drekarteristhekovanant]

How did Stevie Wonder nickname Him Chocolate Thunder?? 😂😂

[@red---paulvanravenswaay2247]

Kind of a disappointing video, more of a complete history of the NBA at that time with miscellaneous details than a thorough discussion of Dawkins🙄

[@jacksavage279]

Dr. Dunkenstien 🏀

[@PowerGearPerformance]

Thats Darryl Griffith

[@HB76558]

CHOCOLATE THUNDER!!💪💪💪

[@adrianpasillas3832]

CHOCOLATE BLUNDER...

[@owlontheprowl1657]

Shaq if refs didn't call offensive fouls on virtually everything he did.

[@darranphillips6122]

They used to wear gold necklaces while they were playing back then

[@AtomicDog-v2d]

I have glass from a backboard Dawkins broke..

[@charlitto317]

That 77-78 team bro... pssshhh

[@sfrank8687]

He was not the first hs player to go to the nba

[@handsomeX]

He was the first drafted to the NBA. Moses Malone was drafted to the ABA.

[@christinemcclaurin7733]

Dr. Dunkenstein!

[@joehawk9839]

That's what I remember him being called not Dr Dunk like the video said.

[@ericwright2594]

rip chocolate thunder

[@Jiltedin2007]

CHOCOLATE THUNDER!

[@apex_prowler95]

Dawk was probably the most physically gifted big man of all time. Even a better athlete than Wilt. He put up solid career numbers despite coming off the bench in many of his early years as a pro.

[@doitall36]

What makes you feel he was a better athlete than Wilt.Wilt was bigger, faster, stronger, jumped higher and had more stamina.Wilt had entire seasons where he never came out the game..WILT possibly had a 45 inch vertical...What makes him a better athlete than WILT. WILT IS THE ONLY MAN TO BLOCK KAREEM's HOOK SHOT..WILT, ACCORDING TO ARNOLD SWARZENEGGER USED TO LIFT HIM UP LIKE A TEACUP..A 265LB BODYBUILDER..COULD YOU BE SPECIFIC ON WHAT MADE DARRYL DAWKINS A BETTER ATHLETE THAN WILT

[@wobbafett2464]

you have no idea what you're talking abt, wilt will always be the most athletic NBA player ever

[@stevenhines5550]

Doctor Dunkenstein

[@italiano57enne93]

Shaq before Shaq

[@timw8948]

Chocolate thunder!

[@JerichoCastille]

The most unfairly officiated player im Nba history.

[@danielabilez3619]

Dunkenstein

[@mrsummers1671]

(17:10)

[@hiermitubergeben3079]

DunkinStein